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Sunday, March 30, 2014

I am very excited and honoured to be
reviewer number one for Jeanna Ellsworth's newly published book, Pride and
Persistence! I read her first story, Mr
Darcy's Promise (review here), quite a few months ago and it was brilliant and so I have been
looking forward to the next story from this author for a long time!

"Undaunted by a threatening storm, Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley insists
he must deliver his letter to Miss Elizabeth Bennet–– then tragedy strikes.
Riddled with guilt, Elizabeth comes to the aid of the comatose Mr. Darcy and
stays by his side until he regains consciousness. She soon learns that although
Mr. Darcy has awoken, he has not returned to himself. And with no memory of his
first disastrous proposal, he has concluded that there is nothing he wants more
than to propose to Miss Elizabeth. This humorous journey of love leaves one asking, does persistence pacify
prejudice? Can Elizabeth see the real gentleman behind the injury, a man who
persists in professing his love to her every chance he gets? In this Regency
variation of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth
Bennet both learn the value of persistence."

If you would like to find out a little more about the author as well as the latest story, then have a look at my interview with her from a few days ago here.

My first reaction after finishing the story: brilliant! This was an amusing,
yet romantic, journey to love for Darcy and Elizabeth, under very different,
and difficult, circumstances.The
premise of the book intrigued me as I had not come across a story involving
memory loss resulting in multiple marriage proposals before!

There is so much I could, and wish to, say about this book but I do want to
give anything away, so you shall just have to read the story for yourself.

I shall mention a few things, however, to wet your appetite...

If you are anything like me with Pride and Prejudice variations, you want the
most important people in the story, Darcy and Elizabeth, to have centre stage
for most of the book. If this is the case, then read this book. Darcy and
Elizabeth have plenty of screen time - or rather page time - due to the nature of
Darcy's injuries confining him to one room, one room which Elizabeth is very
rarely not in.The relationship between
the two of them is very unique and most certainly far from conventional, or
proper; Darcy struggles with a broken ankle and memory problems and Elizabeth
seems to be the only one who can calm Darcy in his confused state. As Elizabeth
feels rather responsible for the accident, she refuses to leave his side and
does all she can to help his recovery, even if it means enduring amarriage proposal and declaration of love
every day!Seeing how Elizabeth's
opinion and view of Darcy changes as she sees him for who he truly is, his real
character becoming more evident and clear in his confused state, is touching. We
are also able to see the more caring and compassionate side to Elizabeth's
nature. It is possible to learn so much more about someone when the rules of
propriety are abandoned due to extraordinary circumstances!

As well as having a very different relationship with Darcy, Elizabeth also has
interesting relationships with other secondary characters in the story. A few
favourites of those for me would be with Colonel Fitzwilliam, and two new
additions; Madeline, the nurse in charge of Darcy's care, and Mrs Wilkinson,
the Collins's cook.

The Colonel is a wonderful character, as he generally is expected to be! He
plays an interesting role in the story and even turns his hand to match-making!
The bond of trust and the sense of openness which he and Elizabeth build
throughout the story is sweet, as well as results in some rather amusing
situations!

Madeleine is a very caring lady who comes to know Elizabeth very well due to
the amount of time she spends in the sick room with Madeline, thanks to the
positive effect only Elizabeth seems to be able to have on Darcy. Madeline also
begins to entertain thoughts about the true nature of the relationship between
these two young people before her...

Mrs Wilkinson was a favourite of mine. She becomes, in a way, the mother
Elizabeth never had, as she is able to confide in her very easily, and in turn,
Mrs Wilkinson has some very beneficial advice for Elizabeth. They share a very
special relationship, regardless of the fact that her skills as a cook are
sadly lacking!

You will find Lady Catherine to have a very interesting and interfering role in
the story, as you would expect, but you also learn the truth about her past
,which, I can assure you, you will not be expecting!

You will also find Mr Collins to be a very silly character and this story will
provide you with some... lasting images, let's just say. Mr Bennet, too, brings
his share of the humour to the story, however with Mr Bennet you will be
laughing with him, rather than at him as you with Mr Collins.

Something which I loved about this author's first story was the use of
metaphors and symbolism throughout the story. There were similar metaphors to
be found in this second story, thanks to Colonel Fitzwilliam in this one. The
Colonel's metaphor of the 'storm' is a very clever metaphor and it is extremely important
for Elizabeth and her relationship with Mr Darcy - but I shall not ruin it for you!I loved how the metaphor is slowly explained,
little by little, throughout the story. The clever use of symbolism and
metaphoric language is one of my favourite aspects to this author's style of
writing.

I have often remarked on the humour in this story, however it is also a very
romantic story (whilst staying completely clean, which is how I like my stories
to be.) While Darcy continually forgetting the fact that he has already
proposed to Elizabeth, multiple times, is amusing to read (at times during his
confused state I just wanted to hug him he was so sweet!) it is also very
touching to see how his proposals are improving each time, making it harder and
harder for Elizabeth to refuse him.

However you can be assured that it all works out eventually! Something I
particularly enjoyed in Mr Darcy's Promise was that the understanding was
reached between Darcy and Lizzy before the last page of the book, as is the
case with many stories. I like to read about the occasional stolen kiss and the
intimate and open conversations between the pair once the majority of the
obstacles have been overcome.So, of
course, I was thrilled to find that this was also the case for this second
story; it was not 'they kiss, they marry, the end', all on the last page!

As well as this, there is a delightful epilogue, set not long after the
conclusion of the story (which I much prefer to skipping to years and years later) and
never has an epilogue made me smile so much! All loose ends and the futures of
the characters we have come to love are tied up in a very neat, satisfactory and perfectly
appropriate way considering all the events of the story - I defy anyone not to
smile and sigh with contentment whilst reading the concluding pages of this
wonderful story! Who doesn't love a happy ending?

Read chapter one of Pride and Persistence here, as well as find out about her
other stories due to be published soon here.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, particularly when you need a good
book to cheer you up, and it is the perfect book for curling up with after a trying day
at work; brilliantly funny and wonderfully romantic which will leave you
feeling perfectly content and with a huge grin on your face - well I did
anyway!

To enter, leave a comment below and the two winners shall be picked randomly. Please leave your email address and state whether you will be entering for the paperback or the ebook.I will then pass on the winners email addresses to Jeanna who will be in touch.

This will only be a short giveaway - I'm going on holiday! - and so it will end Friday, April 4th!

Good luck, and thank you again to Jeanna for offering this giveaway! And good luck with the book!Your affectionate friend,

Monday, March 24, 2014

Today I have the very great pleasure of welcoming the wonderful author Jeanna Ellsworth to my blog. Jeanna is the author of the brilliant story Mr Darcy's Promise (read my review here) and she has her second story coming out very soon, Pride and Persistence, which she will be telling us a little more about in the interview. I cannot wait for this second story for it sounds like a lot of fun... "Undaunted by a threatening storm, Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley insists he must deliver his letter to Miss Elizabeth Bennet–– then tragedy strikes. Riddled with guilt, Elizabeth comes to the aid of the comatose Mr. Darcy and stays by his side until he regains consciousness. She soon learns that although Mr. Darcy has awoken, he has not returned to himself. And with no memory of his first disastrous proposal, he has concluded that there is nothing he wants more than to propose to Miss Elizabeth. This humorous journey of love leaves one asking, does persistence pacify prejudice? Can Elizabeth see the real gentleman behind the injury, a man who persists in professing his love to her every chance he gets? In this Regency variation of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet both learn the value of persistence."~~~~~~~~~Welcome
Jeanna! Thank you so much for agreeing to this little interview with me. I
absolutely love your work, as I think you know, and I am very interested in
finding out a little more about one of my favourite authors and about your upcoming release!

1. It is evident from both your first story and this new release that you are
an avid Janeite and very much enjoy Jane Austen’s work. How did you first come
across Jane Austen and fall in love with the regency world of dancing,
carriages and courtship?

Thanks for
having me! I admit that I am a young Janeite, just reintroduced in January
2012. I had loved the 2005 movie and even owned a copy of the book Pride and
Prejudice that I got from a garage sale but did not earn the title of Janeite
until my sister KaraLynne Mackrory started writing JAFF and would send me her
chapters to read. Since she was not able to satisfy my thirst fast enough (an
author can only write so fast) she would tell me to read other JAFF books that
were published. One book led to 50, which led to more, which led to writing! It
is a slippery slope, so readers, beware! You have been warned!

How well I understand this! Once I had read one JAFF story I was lost, completely and utterly addicted!

2. Of Ms. Austen’s six major novels, need I ask which your favourite is? I
assume from your stories that it is Pride and Prejudice. What appeals to you so
much about Pride and Prejudice? The characters, the story, the humour?

You need
not ask, Pride and Prejudice is by far my favorite. I love it mostly because
the moral of the story (and I kind of like books with morals to the story) is
that in order to attract a Mr. Darcy, you kind of have to be an Elizabeth. And
in order to attract an Elizabeth, you have to be willing to be a Mr.
Darcy!The other reason I am obsessed
with Darcy is because he represents to me how a devoted, persistent man can
earn the love and respect by doing only that which life requires of all of us .
. . change. I like the saying that if you do not like the results you are
getting, than change how you do things. I enjoy cooking and so it correlates
that there is no reason to think that if you use the same ingredients that you
will come out with a different dish! Darcy had no guarantees or even any hope
that changing himself would alter Elizabeth’s view of him, but it did!

That is precisely what I love about Pride and Prejudice, or more specifically, Darcy and Lizzy - they both change for the other.

3. Now, aside from Pride and Prejudice, which other work do you particularly
like?

Since I
have three girls, the oldest full of sense and logic, the middle daughter with
a strong passion for life, and a youngest who can be found exploring at any
given time, I admit that Sense and Sensiblity if my next favorite. It is even
the last Jane Austen book I read. I had a date night with my girls and watched
the movie the other day and they giggled at the similarities.

Well I can see why this comes second! I have a special love for Sense and Sensibility for a similar reason actually; my older sister is very much like Elinor, and I am rather like Marianne!4. In your two stories you take Ms. Austen’s plotline and explore a ‘what if’
idea and take the story down a completely different route. Why did you want to
write these variations? Did you want to explore the world of Lizzy and Darcy a
little more? I adore reading these ‘what if’ variations as I cannot get enough
of Lizzy and Darcy, so please keep writing them!

I wrote
because I was questioning my sanity. Truly. I had a psychology class in nursing
school and even though it was 15 years ago, I’m pretty sure that hearing voices
in your head was a bad thing. Ha Ha. I had read so much Jane Austen Fan Fiction
that the characters were literally alive in my head (and heart!) I had plots and
entire scenes playing out in my head. I would dream about “what if’s” and I
decided that I should either start writing them down or start taking medicine!
It has been nonstop ever since I wrote the first plot outline. I’m currently
half way through with my fifth book and it has only been 2 years since writing.
I love it and will probably never stop so I’m glad you can’t get enough.

Miss Austen's characters are so well written and known to us that I can understand how the characters could come alive in your head - you just know very easily what Mrs Bennet would say, or how Lady Catherine might act!5. Do you think there is another one of Ms. Austen’s stories which would have
the potential for a ‘what if’ variation, or do you think that Pride and
Prejudice holds the most possibility with the plot and characters for such
stories?

At this
time I’m sticking with Pride and Prejudice, however, I’ll let you in on a
little secret. I have this little urge to try a non JAFF regency romance with
all original characters! It feels scary but kind of a fun challenge too!

Oh how exciting! It would be a challenge to come up with all your own characters but it would also be fun! I hope you do try this one day.

6. What is your opinion of modern variations of Ms. Austen’s work such as
Clueless, or the bollywood Pride and Prejudice or the recent YouTube series The
Lizzy Bennet Diaries, or even paranormal variations such as Pride and Prejudice
and Vampires? Would you ever think about writing a modern variation, or like
me, do you prefer her stories to be kept to the era in which they belong?

The hardest
part about many of the modern takes is they lose the innocence of the Regency
romance; the stolen looks or touches that exaggerate the attraction. There are
some great ones out there but I imagine it would be hard to write a modern take
on P&P without letting the relationship turn into something modern. It is
so common place now to kiss and even sleep with who you date, but there is just
something so much more romantic and long lasting (and are we not wanting to
read a happily ever after?) when the relationship is based on respect and friendship.
I’m not saying it isn’t possible to write a modern take without the sex, but
there are not many who keep it off the page. I certainly enjoy reading it when
the authors let my imagination do all the work!

7. Mr Darcy has to be one of the most famous heroes in all of literature and
for many the saying ‘searching for Mr Right’ turned into ‘searching for Mr
Darcy’ after coming across Pride and Prejudice (well, it did for me!). What
appeals to you about Mr Darcy? Is he a fun character to develop and explore, as
you did so well in Mr Darcy's Promise?

My
daughters do not fully grasp the man Mr. Darcy is and who he represents to all
us who adore him. I tell them he is the perfectly-imperfect gentleman. By that
I mean, he is sooooo imperfect, but like our smartphones, he autocorrects into
something that is just right. And just like autocorrect, he occasionally makes
a big mistake (Hunsford) and has to atone for his sins. But he does it like a
real gentleman. He realizes that his pride and prejudice are his greatest
hurdles to finding happiness and his every action from that realization on are
efforts to humble himself. He changes into a man who is worthy of the woman he
loves, but only after realizing that she was worth changing for. A man who can
love so deeply and passionately that he makes the change within himself without
any promises of securing her hand is a man worthy of an Elizabeth.

That is a very interesting comparison! But what you say is actually very true - he does autocorrect into something just right. He really is the 'perfectly-imperfect gentleman', as you say, which is why we love him!

8. Now aside from Mr Darcy, which other characters do you enjoy developing in
your stories? The humorous Colonel Fitzwilliam perhaps, or the rather shy
Georgiana? Who do you find the hardest to write about? And the easiest?

Colonel
Fitzwilliam is my favorite minor character. In Pride and Persistence, he is
downright loveable! So wise and so smart and has such tender (friend-like)
moments where he helps Elizabeth through the trauma of Darcy’s head injury and
helps her find humor in his multiple proposals. He is the main character of the
book I am writing now, called Hope For Fitzwilliam. I do love Georgiana and
Charlotte too. I can’t say I’m all that fond of Bingley (don’t respect a man
who will not fight for the love of his life) or Jane who always feels so weak.
I find them hard to write because I don’t love them. This logic doesn’t hold
true with every character I do not like. I admit I kind of love writing scenes
with Caroline Bingley even though I hate her character, but she is just so
nasty! It is too much fun to write her set down!

I also love Colonel Fitzwilliam - I look forward to your story where the Colonel takes centre stage! And I always love to see Caroline Bingley getting a set down!
8. There are many scenes in your book (and I imagine in this new story as
well!) which are highly romantic and had me sighing (and swooning!) with
happiness! I really admire you for keeping your novels clean; it just shows how
stories can be highly romantic whist remaining clean, unlike quite a few
variations out there. How important is this to you?

Even though
Mr. Darcy’s Promise was a forced marriage scenario where it would be
appropriate for them to make love, I found that leaving that stuff off the page
was fun, even forcing me to get creative! I have to admit I have ulterior
motives as well. One, my kids read my books and I do not want them to imagine
their mom writing love scenes. Yuck! Two, I’m single and getting sexually
frustrated is not pleasant! Ha ha! I started keeping a list of all the clean
books I have read on my website that I feel represent what I would be willing
to let my daughters read. Check out my Recommended Reads page on my website,www.heyladypublications.com I am always willing to add a
book if it is clean and entertaining and since I started the list after I read
so many JAFF books, it is not all inclusive. I do not intend to omit any of the
good clean ones intentionally and love recommendations from other readers who
appreciate all the sex and language being left off the page.

9. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Mr Darcy's Promise and I was thrilled when
I saw that your second story was being published soon, Pride and Persistence.
The routes you choose to explore in your first story was very interesting, but
I believe the premise of this newest story is the most intriguing for me. What
enticed you down the route of head injuries and memory loss? Where did your
inspiration come for?

I am a
neurological ICU nurse and one day I was trying to take a nap before a night
shift and suddenly I started giggling to myself because I was imagining Mr.
Darcy with a frontal lobe injury. I was imagining scene after scene where he
lacked memory, emotional control, reasoning, and logical complex thought. Pride
and Persistence starts out with a tragic accident where Mr. Darcy gets a head
injury but as his limitations become apparent, the tragedy becomes more than
just a little humorous. Many events that occur in the book are true to life
events or behaviors that a real patient with a frontal lobe injury would have.
To be honest, my inspiration comes from every single experience I have in life.
It could be a sermon at church, it could be a grocery store janitor, it could
be the man who flipped me off, either way, I see stories all around me, and I
feel compelled to write them. Head injuries can be the hardest thing to cope
with as a patient or family member so my goal in writing this book, and writing
it as a romantic comedy, was to help those who struggle see and feel the hope
at the end of recovery. I even dedicate the book to those patients and families
as well as the staff of Neurological ICUs.

How wonderful! It is brilliant where your inspiration comes from, particularly for Pride and Persistence, in that many of the situations and events which occur as a result of the head injury are actually things you have seen in real life! I really can't wait to see it! 10. The story to Pride and Persistence sounds like a lot of fun. Although your
first story had its share of humour, would you say that this was more of a
comedy than your first story? I believe you have described it as "Pride
and Prejudice meets 50 First Dates"?

It could be
called 50 first proposals! I wrote so many proposals, with them showing subtle
improvements each time (showing Darcy’s condition was improving) that I now
almost cringe when it is time to write a proposal. But I admit this is by far
the funniest book I have written. My fellow author JAFF addict junkie, (My
sister KaraLynne Mackrory who has published 3 JAFF books) deems this her
favorite of all my books. Although it takes a few chapters to get past the
initial suspense of the accident and his precarious condition, soon the world
of finding joy, laughter, and healing in head injuries opens up. It was a very
fun book to write.

I always love humour in a book, as well as romance, so I am sure this will be just up my street! (I highly recommend KaraLynne Mackrory's stories as well!)11. I will wrap up the questions now, but one final thing; I think I see from
your website that you have some other stories written or are in the process of
writing? You must excuse my impatience, for I realise that your second story
has only just been released, but I had to ask!

Yes, since
I self-publish, it takes a bit of time to get my work to the public. I firmly
believe that I should not go into debt to fund the editing or cover so I use
the royalties from the previous book to fund the next book. I also am rather
addicted to having an original painting done for the cover that I can hang in
my living room and that takes months to paint. Pride and Persistence should be
published by April 1st, if not sooner, and my third book, To Refine
Like Silver, is tentatively planned for a November 2014 publication. My fourth
book is the first in a series of 4 books called The Hope Series. I am hoping to
publish them fairly close together which means they may not start publication
until a year or more from now. I do like to post them on the online communities
like Darcyandlizzy.com and Meryton.com because the readers have such
interesting comments and it is very rewarding to see how each chapter
influences them.

I will be keeping my eyes out for all your other stories!

Thank you
so much for interviewing me! They were wonderful questions and I hope you all
will get a chance to read Pride and Persistence when it comes out! I always
love to hear from my readers! This is one way I get one step closer to you all!
Thank you so much for this opportunity, Sophie. It is amazing how this world
that Jane Austen created 200 years ago is affecting so many people today. I can
only imagine her being in awe at the scope of her influence.

Thank you again for participating in this interview with me. Good luck with
your new book – it will be just as successful as your other story, I know it
will. I cannot wait to read it! And I completely agree with you; it is amazing how Ms. Austen's work can bring so many people together 200 years later!

~~~~~~~~~~

I really look forward to reading this story when it is (hopefully!) published April 1st! Keep an eye out for my review which I should be posting in a few weeks. Thank you again to Jeanna Ellsworth and good luck and all the best for future stories! To find out more about all her stories - published and works in progress - visit her website !

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Darcy and Elizabeth is Gianna’s first Pride
and Prejudice variation. The novel is scheduled for publication in the Spring
of 2014. It has amusing moments, plenty of angst and family interference
that mimic that found in the original Pride and Prejudice. Follow
along with the highs and lows of one of the most romantic couples of all
fiction history.

Three short
story prequels lead into the Pride and Prejudice: Darcy
and Elizabeth novel:

Pride and Prejudice: Attending a Ball recounts the three days
before the beginning of the novel from Elizabeth Bennet’s perspective.

Pride and Prejudice: Darcy and Bingley recounts Darcy’s and
Bingley’s first encounter, some of their history together and their current
activities a few days before the start of the novel.

And Pride
and Prejudice: Pemberley and Beyond looks at the history of Pemberley
House, how Darcy is truly Master of Pemberley and what his vision is for the
future of his beloved home.

I was contacted asking if I would
like to read and review these stories and I was only too happy to. So far, two of the prequels mentioned above
have been released and I liked both of these prequels, particularly ‘Darcy and
Bingley’. As is always the case with short stories, the story sometimes feels a
little rushed and the characters underdeveloped, but I am looking forward to
reading a full length story which allows for this development, and besides,
these prequels are exactly that; prequels which are just preparing us for the main
story. I do feel that these two short stories have set the story up well in
preparation for the full length novel, especially with the cliff-hanger ending.

Pride and Prejudice: Attending
a Ball

This was a short story which
covers the time before the start of Gianna Thomas’s new novel, from Lizzy’s
point of view.

It was enjoyable to see more about
each of the Bennet sisters; Lydia and Kitty as they become excited about the
prospect of a ball at Netherfield and then the news that the militia are to be
quartered at Meryton. Jane and Lizzy are also interested in this news about the
militia but are more so about their new neighbour, a Mr Bingley, who they look
forward to meeting. Mary is not interested in either of these events in the
slightest, but is looking forward to further perfecting her latest Mozart
piece.

In general the characters seemed
as we would expect - Lydia was spot on. I enjoyed seeing a little more between Lizzy
and Jane and the sisterly bond they share. I also enjoyed seeing the
relationship between Lizzy and her father, which is just as strong as you would
imagine. Mrs. Bennet was also very
accurate and how you would expect her to be, and between her and Lydia, they
provided plenty of humour.

Lizzy also has more to be happy
about as her and her dear friend Melanie are to head to London to buy some new
materials for a new ball gown. We meet Lizzy’s good friend Melanie, and also
see a little more to Charlotte Lucas. The three of them seem like the best of
friends, and Melanie was a nice addition and I look forward to seeing more of
her in the coming novel.

It was clever in that it set up
lots of questions and hinted at many events which are to come in the main
novel. It was good at enticing the reader in, especially with the dramatic
cliff hanger - the carriage ride to London, which a certain handsome gentleman
is also part of, doesn’t go quite as smoothly as hoped. I look forward to reading the novel to see
what is going to happen.

Pride and Prejudice: Darcy and
Bingley

I enjoyed this short story, recounting the history to Darcy and Bingley’s
friendship, and what they get up to in the few weeks leading up to the
beginning of Gianna Thomas’s new novel, from Darcy’s point of view.

It was fun to see how Darcy and
Bingley met, at Cambridge, and seeing how their friendship developed on from
that through the years. They really do have a strong bond and it is explained
well why two such different gentlemen get on so well. As Darcy helps Bingley go
through the process of letting out an estate, Netherfield Park, the trust and
respect Bingley has for Darcy is clear, and Darcy is a very good friend to him.

Where would we be without Caroline Bingley, who is just as annoying as ever,
but I have to say, her obvious attempts to capture Darcy’s attention as well as
seeing what Darcy really thinks about her was rather amusing.

Georgiana also came into this story and she is just as shy as she is meant to
be, but the strong bond shown between her and her brother was lovely.

The way in which the two stories collided and ended in the same way has set it up for an exciting opening to the full length story.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

I was very excited when I heard that a television series of
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James was being made, and I was looking
forward to it. Christmas Day I received book and then Boxing Day the series began!
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the series actually. It was quite dark
and serious, but that is the nature of the story, but I still really enjoyed,
and I am looking forward to reading the book (which I still haven’t gotten around
to reading yet!). It will be interesting to see how similar the adaptation
stayed to the book. "Elizabeth and Darcy, now six years married, are preparing for their annual ball when festivities are brought to an abrupt halt. An adaptation of PD James's homage to Pride and Prejudice."

Book blurb... "The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the nursery, Elizabeth's beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley live nearby and the orderly world of Pemberley seems unassailable. But all this is threatened when, on the eve of the annual autumn ball, as the guests are preparing to retire for the night a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley's wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham - Elizabeth's younger, unreliable sister - stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered."

What I will say was that really it is just a murder mystery
which happens to use Miss. Austen's wonderful characters, and it wasn’t, in
fact, very Austen-y at all! But I enjoyed it nonetheless, and even my
sister, who is not an Austen fan, also really, really enjoyed it and wishes to watch it again.I thought it was well cast and acted, Mr. Wickham
in particular, and I loved the use of Chatsworth for Pemberley again, like in
the 2005 film.

So let’s start with the most important thing, the mystery. I
am pleased and proud to be able to announce that I guessed “who dun’ it”
correctly! Ok, so I didn’t quite get all the small details and ins and outs of
the case as it was quite complex, however I worked out some of it and who was
responsible. Although I did fathom some of it out, that is not to say it was
not a good murder mystery, because I think it was clever and quite involved
with a few unexpected twists and turns, and characters you wouldn’t expect to becoming
involved.

I thought that, on the whole, the characters were cast and
acted well, some particularly well. Let’s begin with the two characters
everyone was waiting to see how they were portrayed; Elizabeth and Darcy. I
liked the portrayals. Beginning with Lizzy; I have heard some comment that they
found her lacking in screen presence and didn’t seem to be lively enough to be
the Lizzy we know and love, however, I think she was shown to be a good
mistress who can handle Pemberley, still the Lizzy we love but clearly now a
wife and mother. Changes between the 20 year old, unmarried Lizzy from Pride
and Prejudice and the 26 year old, married Lizzy from Death Comes to Pemberley are
to be expected. I will admit that she had to grow on me, however, as the series
progress I very quickly warmed to her and I think Anna Maxwell Martin did a
good job.

As for Darcy, I very much enjoyed Matthew Rhys portrayal. I
think he was suitably handsome enough for Fitzwilliam Darcy (and his appearance
grew on me even more through the series and I considered him completely
handsome by the end!) Aside from his looks, to the more important question of
his character, I think he did well. Again, Pride and Prejudice Darcy is going
to be different from Death Comes to Pemberley Darcy. What I particularly loved
seeing was Darcy as a father. He seems like such a wonderful father and it was
nice to see this side to him.

In this story, while Darcy is off trying to get to the
bottom of the case, Lizzy is left at home (law courts and such not being a
suitable place for a lady!) doing some investigating of her own. Both Darcy and
Lizzy go through a lot during the story, and this causes a few problems for the
couple. I think this was something I was not keen on, the rifts and coldness
which arises between them as a result of the events going on, however I do understand
why this happens, and it does add to the drama of the story (and of course it
all ends well!)

One of the characters I feel for the most is Darcy. He is
married, a father and finally settled and happy and then what happens? His
nemesis Wickham turns up to ruin his happiness and invade into his life once
again, this time in a very serious manner indeed, being the chief suspect in a
murder investigation, of a murder which has taken place in the grounds of his
own home! I think Rhys did a very good job of portraying all the struggles and
pains Darcy goes through trying to work out whether or not Wickham, his
childhood friend turned enemy, could really be capable of murder.

Now the other main characters of the story are Lydia and
Wickham, but mainly Wickham. I think I can say that George Wickham was my
favourite character in this story (shocking I know!) as Matthew Goode’s
portrayal was just outstanding. It must have been, for I found myself pitying
Wickham! I have always hated Wickham the most out of all the Austen bad boys,
but yet, I grew to feel sorry for him, pity him and hope that he is in fact innocent
and not hung! I never thought I would be able to say I feel sorry for Mr George
Wickham! Matthew Goode could portrayal
the full spectrum of emotions Wickham experiences; we see the roguish,
scoundrel side that we know him for, but also the afraid, anxious and fretful
side, as things start to look worse and worse, and he edging closer and closer to
the noose...

Lydia also was acted very well by Jenna Coleman. She was
just as insolent and annoying as we expect her to be, that is until things
start to look rather shaky and take a turn for the worse for her beloved
Wickham. There is one scene in particular which springs to mind when Lydia is
visiting Wickham in prison and the scene between them is very moving and full
of emotion. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them both many times throughout the
story.

Georgiana was all that was sweet and lovely and she seemed
to have a wonderful, sisterly relationship with Elizabeth, which was nice to
see. Georgiana has her own problems to deal with through this story and I think
Eleanor Tomlinson did Georgiana justice and I felt she was very much like the
Georgiana we would expect to see, 6 years on. There was a fun new addition of a
Mr Alveston played by James Norton, who is also a love interest for Georgiana. He
was a nice addition to the story; a very amiable, charming young man who offers
all the help he can with the murder inquiry.

Although their roles were not massive, I thought Mrs Bennet
very well acted. Rebecca Front captured her spirit and she is just as we know
her to be - you can imagine what such a thing as a murder investigation would
do to her poor nerves... I liked Mr Bennet’s portrayal by James Fleet, however,
I felt a little of the sharp wit we love him for seemed to be lost, but his
relationship with his daughter was shown to be just as strong as ever, which
was lovely to see.

I think my main problem with the story would be what
happened to Colonel Fitzwilliam. This, I assume, is not down to the adaptation
but to what P.D. James had chosen to do in the book in the first place. All I will
say it that Colonel Fitzwilliam fans out there might not like the alteration
and changes to the personality and character of the Colonel. I shall say no
more but you have been warned. But I do think Tom Ward did a good job, given
the new side to the Colonel which comes to light which is vastly different to
the Colonel Fitzwilliam we know.

The other things I wished were different were that I would
have liked to have seen more of Jane and Bingley – in fact, Bingley didn’t
appear at all and Jane’s appearance was very fleeting. Lady Catherine, played
by the wonderful Penelope Keith, had only a very small amount of screen time as
well, which was a shame. Again, I cannot comment on whether this is the TV
adapters or whether this is just as it is in the book. I really must read the
book to find out!

On the whole I found it a really, well done series which was
highly enjoyable. There was intriguing mystery, plenty of drama, moments of comedy,
some romance thrown in, and the return of characters we already know and love as
well as a few new additions; a good series worth watching for both Janeites and
mystery lovers alike.

Georgiana comforts a distraught Lydia as she watches her beloved husband being taken off to prison...

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Pretty, wealthy Ellen Dunbar has had three
Seasons in London - and still remains unwed. A stubborn Scot, she refuses to
settle for anything less than her heart's desire, which makes meeting dashing
Lord Corey Wolfe all the more magical. Ellen knows at first glance that he is
the man of her dreams. Until an accident spirits Corey to the 'other side'....

Now Ellen and Corey live in different worlds,
and even love cannot cross the chasm to the great beyond. So Corey does the
noble thing: He decides to find Ellen a living husband who can make her happy
here on earth. Though the tabbies of the ton think her odd for having
conversations with thin air, suitors are soon forming a line for her hand. With
Corey's divine intervention, Ellen should make a wonderful match. But, heaven
help her, it is the irresistible, ghostly Corey she desires...in the flesh, in
her arms...and forever in her heart.”

I will be the first to admit that me and paranormal don't
usually mix, in fact, I generally wouldn’t even think of reading a paranormal
story, but a good friend recommended it to me and the way she described the
story to me intrigued me – how could a story where the hero dies and becomes a
ghost possibly have a happy ending? And so I just had to find out and I can
truly say that I am so glad that I read it for I loved the paranormal aspect to
the story and I just couldn’t put it down! It was brilliant - very clever,
really funny and highly romantic! What more could I want?

Beginning with the hero and heroine; Lord Corey Wolfe was
a very fun hero, even as a ghost. He is
such a charming, albeit teasing and slightly roguish, gentleman! I fell completely in love with him, just like our
heroine, Miss Ellen Dunbar, who was a sweet girl, but she has spirit and a
lively wit, Lizzy Bennet style - a good match for our hero.

As I said, I actually loved the paranormal aspect and how
Corey is a ghost and what this added to the story; the cross conversations that
occur as a result were brilliantly clever and really funny! I did feel sorry
for Ellen at times though, trying to hold two conversations at once, one with
someone only she can see, whilst trying to make sure she doesn’t appear completely
mad to the other person she is trying to converse with! Corey is very funny
with all his sarcastic, and often rude, comments about the potential suitors
who call on Ellen. He also ends up being a rather useful invisible chaperone,
able to control, or rather deal with very amusingly, the over amorous and bold suitors
vying for Ellen’s attention! He is a handy one to have around, even if Ellen doesn’t
always think so!

As well as the humour which came from fact that Corey is a ghost, I loved the
liberties and the relaxed nature to Ellen and Corey’s relationship.They are very easy with each other, and very
teasing and flirtatious at times, as the rules of propriety don't really seem
to apply to them thanks to the peculiar situation they have found themselves in.
It was very sweet!

I was wondering all the time while I was reading just how
a happy ending was going to be reached – was Ellen going to die and join Corey
on the other side, or was, somehow, Corey going to come back to life? I
couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen! And what does happen is
very clever and works very well - but I shan’t ruin the ending for you!

My good friend who recommended this to me said it was
romantic, but I thought, how can this be so romantic when the hero and heroine
can't even touch each other?! But she was right – it was very romantic! One of
the most romantic stories I have read for a while in fact. The emotion between
Corey and Ellen was so strong and it was so sad to see them so in love with
each when they both know it is impossible for them to be together - so
romantic, and yet very sad and heart-wrenching at the same time!

As well as Corey and Ellen, there were some amusing
secondary characters. Given that Corey, as well as Ellen’s good friend Marian,
are trying to find her a husband, there are some very amusing, bold, over amorous,
vain, arrogant and interesting suitors thrust in Ellen's way...

The writing, as well as the story, was brilliant. It
flowed remarkable well, it never dragged or was boring, but it also didn’t race
through the story at a rate of knots, without fleshing out the characters and the
scenes.In addition, there were never
long stretches of the book when Corey and Ellen were not around, which is
always a good thing.

Can you tell I just loved loved loved this story? It really surpassed my
expectations! Such tension and romance, and yet humour as well. Even if you are not normally a reader of paranormal
stories, like me, I still highly recommend giving this story a chance.

I really don't know how to describe the extent of my
admiration for this book, or what to say except... just read it – oh and also, please
can I have a Corey Wolfe haunting me as well?

About Me

Welcome to my blog that I started when I was just 16. I am thrilled it now reaches Janeites all over the world who share my passion! Look out for reviews, tales of my regency adventures, and much more. I just love to spread the wit and wisdom of Jane Austen! Contact me: s.j.andrews@hotmail.co.uk